Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Here is Donald Trump’s Supreme Court Shortlist

Judicial conservatives are buzzing about a new Supreme Court justice who could cement a conservative majority on the bench for decades.

President-elect Donald Trump has given a firm commitment to Republicans that he will stick to a list of 21 potential conservative nominees released during the campaign. It is a list that dazzles conservatives and includes everyone from a tweeting justice who sits on the Texas Supreme Court to an appellate judge in Alabama who has called Roe v. Wade an “abomination.”

But conservatives have long memories. They have lived through similar situations when a nominee who might have looked good on paper turned in to a bitter disappointment, such as David Souter or even Chief Justice John Roberts, whose vote upholding Obamacare has overshadowed more conservative rulings.

Here’s CNN’s ongoing list of potential Supreme Court nominees and what they are known for:

William Pryor: Roe v. Wade = abomination

Pryor, who sits on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, would be the dream candidate for many conservatives.

The 54 year-old is a staunch conservative who once called the 1973 landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade, the “worst abomination in the history of constitutional law.”

Indeed, during his confirmation hearing after being nominated by George W. Bush, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer offered Pryor a chance to clarify his position. Pryor didn’t shift. He is also no product of the Ivy League. He attended Northeast Louisiana University for his undergrad work and then graduated from Tulane University Law School in 1987.

Diane Sykes: Contraceptive Mandate

Sykes, 59, is a breath of fresh air to many conservatives, as was evidenced in her entertaining interview of Justice Clarence Thomas four years ago during a dinner sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society. The interview brought the audience to its feet as Sykes showcased not only Thomas’ commitment to his constitutional principles, but offered a glimpse of his lighter side.

She is a Wisconsin native who graduated from Northwestern University in 1980 and attended Marquette University School of Law. A former journalist, Sykes went on to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and was appointed by George W. Bush to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Recently she voted to uphold Wisconsin’s voter ID law. She also sided with closely held corporations in a challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. Some think she might be too old at 58, others wonder if she might be a better choice for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat should it become open.